1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to improvements in underwater pelletizers and more particularly to providing a sectioned adjustable water flow guide for the water box of an underwater pelletizer to more effectively adapt the conditions associated with the pressurized water flowing through the water box to the particular process requirements.
The present invention provides for adjustability of the one-piece water flow guide disclosed in application Ser. No. 09/400,287, filed Sep. 21, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,551,087, which is owned by the same assignee as the instant application. The flow guide in the aforesaid application is shown positioned in a typical Model 6 pelletizer of assignee. The subject matter of the aforesaid co-pending application is specifically incorporated in this application as if fully set forth herein.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Underwater pelletizers are well known and include a die plate with multiple orifices through which molten polymer strands are extruded with the orifices terminating at a die face on the die plate. A powered rotary cutter including a cutter hub mounted on a shaft with a plurality of blades supported from the cutter hub is associated with the die face for shearing the extruded polymer strands into pellets as the polymer is extruded beyond the die face. A water box encloses the die face, cutter hub and blades to form a cutting chamber through which water flows to quench and rigidify the extruded polymer strands, thus enabling the cutting blades to better shear the extruded strands into pellets. The flow of water through the cutting chamber defined by the water box also conveys a slurry of the water and sheared pellets through the outlet of the water box to a pellet dewaterer and/or a dryer. The above described underwater pelletizers are disclosed in related U.S. patents including U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,123,207, 4,251,198, 4,621,996, 4,728,276 and 5,059,103, all owned by the assignee of this invention.
While the above listed patents disclose various structures associated with underwater pelletizers, a need exists for adjustability in guiding the water flow through the water box in accordance with the particular process requirements of an extrusion and pelletizing application without the need for changing the water box design or for a new water flow guide.